• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Learning Sublimation

M

MatthewTimothy

New Member
Ive been doing research in this area but im stumped with one thing. Some of these videos ive seen show a digital printer printing on special paper than they place the paper over the sheet, cover it, then press it. BUT im stumped in wondering are they still using the same ink as you would to print a banner and the only difference is the paper you're printing on?? Any one have some good articles or more info to learn about this further?? Whats a good machine to use or setup?
 
WildWestDesigns

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
For sublimation printing you are using special inks along with a particular type of paper. Even in bulk the inks can be quite expensive. There is a third party set of inks, but they, at this time, really only work with the Epson printers(due to type of cartridge and chip on that cartridge) and the Epson printers have a habit of clogging if they sit too long. Some don't, so do. Just make sure you have sublimation demand that will keep your printer working. Even the Ricoh printers don't like to sit, but they don't seem to have the clogging issues that the Epson's have.
 
O

Out There

New Member
I mostly do mugs and beer Steins, but I use a couple of Epson WF1100 printers with cobra ink. The ink is I guess you can say 3rd party and it will sadly clog up if not used almost daily. I buy bulk ink so cost is only a fraction of what you would pay for sawgrass ink. I also use mug wraps and a convection oven instead of the mug press. In my opinion I get better quality

Tons of heat presses out there but I really like my k20s Geo Knight swing away. Very consistent heat on the platen and has never caused my any issues in the last two years.
 
M

MatthewTimothy

New Member
Out There said:
I mostly do mugs and beer Steins, but I use a couple of Epson WF1100 printers with cobra ink. The ink is I guess you can say 3rd party and it will sadly clog up if not used almost daily. I buy bulk ink so cost is only a fraction of what you would pay for sawgrass ink. I also use mug wraps and a convection oven instead of the mug press. In my opinion I get better quality

Tons of heat presses out there but I really like my k20s Geo Knight swing away. Very consistent heat on the platen and has never caused my any issues in the last two years.
Click to expand...

i actually already have that printer and use it for printing proofs for clients
 
WildWestDesigns

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
Out There said:
I mostly do mugs and beer Steins, but I use a couple of Epson WF1100 printers with cobra ink. The ink is I guess you can say 3rd party and it will sadly clog up if not used almost daily.
Click to expand...

That's more related to the printer then it is to the ink themselves. The Ricoh printers don't have the clogging issues, like I said, but the ability to use third party either in bags or in cartridges seems to be very limited. Most are out with Epson compatibility. If you can find a way to deal with the clogging (hopefully with enough demand for sublimation) then that route has more options. In my opinion.

Out There said:
I also use mug wraps and a convection oven instead of the mug press. In my opinion I get better quality
Click to expand...

I think so too, but it also depends on the press as well and how the operator uses the equipment as well. You can get really good quality with a mug press versus a wrap and oven.

Out There said:
Tons of heat presses out there but I really like my k20s Geo Knight swing away. Very consistent heat on the platen and has never caused my any issues in the last two years.
Click to expand...

I like the Geo Knights. Very good presses. If you are doing the smaller low quantity stuff, might even consider some of their combo presses, but it just depends on how big products you plan on using.


I would not suggest, however, to get regular products and try to treat them in order to make them receptive to sublimation inks. Results tend to be inconsistent. Just go ahead and get the products that are prepped for sublimation inks.
 
O

Out There

New Member
WildWestDesigns said:
I would not suggest, however, to get regular products and try to treat them in order to make them receptive to sublimation inks. Results tend to be inconsistent. Just go ahead and get the products that are prepped for sublimation inks.
Click to expand...


lol..been there. I used Rave x4 hair spray on a 100% cotton shirt. Funny thing is it worked. Albeit, kinda crappy looking, but it worked.
 
O

Out There

New Member
Nope.

It needs to have a lot of polyester in it. 100% polyester for great results. 50/50 looks ok but it will fade due to the ink washing off the cotton fibers.
 
O

Out There

New Member
Another option if you have a heat press is Plastisol transfers. Then you can use 100% cotton shirts. You would still need to contact a screen printer, but you save on the shirts and time because you can produce your shirts as needed.

That is if you do the same designs over and over again. It's not a good option for one offs.
 
WildWestDesigns

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
Out There said:
Another option if you have a heat press is Plastisol transfers. Then you can use 100% cotton shirts. You would still need to contact a screen printer, but you save on the shirts and time because you can produce your shirts as needed.

That is if you do the same designs over and over again. It's not a good option for one offs.
Click to expand...

That is a good option to consider, but like what was already mentioned, its good if you have a decent run to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top